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German Researchers Show Off a Gesture-Based Interface
smitty777 writes "The folks at the Potsdam University have developed a user interface based completely on hand gestures. A small(ish) device worn around the neck is used to track the hand position, allowing the user to draw, type, or gesture in the air. You think it looks ridiculous when you can't tell that folks are talking on a cell phone? Imagine a bus full of people gesturing in thin air. Also, don't forget to turn this thing off, or it will look like your cat was walking on your keyboard." Update: 06/11 00:54 GMT by T : This informative comment (kudos!) adds links to a video demonstration and the researcher's own site.
Oooh they are so going to get sued by Apple. This infringes on their, putting a finger near a capacitive touchscreen patent.
I'm guessing it would have the problems of the Palm OS graffiti alphabet only cubed.
I do not have a sig. You are hallucinating.
German Researchers Show Off a Gesture-Based Interface
Shurley you jest sir, this could only have been invented by the Italians. OTOH this would be the equivalent of a mute button for the Brits.
ideopath @ play
Remember the last time Germans started waving their hands around?
Here's a much better one. There's even a video of the project in action.
http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/baudisch/projects/imaginary_interfaces.html
To be honest, it doesn't look like much if you're already familiar with work in the field, but it's probably still worth a quick watch.
Design a "hands free" for a mobile with this interface...
The problem having a small interface to interact with the touch-screen of a mobile is real... but I fail to see how this is actually a solution.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
Gorilla arm.
Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
Unfortunately, every time they've tried to demo it, a fight breaks out.
I am envisioning a future of urbanites wandering aimlessly as they frantically mash a virtual piano, while in reality they are 3-finger-saluting the air because they can't access their FarceBook or Twatter. Bring on the Windows Mobile Revolution(TM) !
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
Original paper with video
Research author page,
project papers, and published papers.
Institute home page
Enjoy!
Will finally be able to translate from ASL!
Yeah, yeah, you're probably thinking, "you insensitive clod, I'm from _____." Or making up some clever joke about age/sex/location...
That's really interesting, as was this, last year: http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
.....I can make cell phone calls with interpretive dance.
Lawyers just love this sort of thing.
Someone makes a gesture saying "shove it" (flipping the bird, one-finger salute, whatever) and the cop standing in front of them tazes them.
"There was no warning label saying that gesturing could offend bystanders. I want $5 million."
[_] I have no hands, you insensitive clod! ... heck, it'll signal I'm dead - the gesture for that is my hands not moving for 24 hours.
[_] I have no hands because I wanted to see if it would blend, you insensitive clod!
[_] In Soviet Russia, gestures track YOU!
[_] You can have my gesture device when you pry it from my
[_] It's worn around the neck - if I get the hiccups, what happens? Will I accidentally download porn or something?
[_] Call me when I can attach this to my dog's collar so it can communicate more than "walk me", "feed me", and "rub my belly".
...or did Bezos already patent this?
"I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
You insensitive w3esjbmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
http://www.xkcd.com/736/
Anything other than complete functional neural interface is a fad at best, and will never ever be used let alone replace keyboard and mouse or touch interface.
I wonder if I can draw a perfect circle with this. Using a mouse, mine always looks like a cragged boulder.
Didn't they have this with Slartibartfast and the Planet Krikkit videos about 30 years ago?
"Be grateful for what you have. You may never know when you may lose it."
http://fringe.davesource.com/Fringe/Entertainment/Books/HitchHikers_Guide_To_The_Galaxy/1.Chapters/Chapter_12
"A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin
as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wavebands for news of himself.
The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been
operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the
technology became more sophisticated the controls were made
touch-sensitive - you merely had to brush the panels with your
fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general
direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular
expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly
still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme..."
Doesn't "Natal" already do precisely that?
havent they?
Honestly!
This sure looks like the gimzo that Pranav Mistry developed at MIT. Here's a link to the demo of same at TED, last year: http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html
Come on, all these posts and no reference to Minority Report? For shame.
My cat is walkign on m,y keyboard, you insesnitive clod..
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
and like mimes, people can
No. Any idea that can be described with the line "like mimes" I don't want to have anything to do with.
It would seem like a bad idea at the conceptual stage since this idea violates one of the most fundamental HCI principles of providing the user with feedback, but reading the "article" it seems like what these researchers are looking at is how the use of gestures can be projected to aid in remote communication between individuals (rather than this actually being a full interface technology...at this point). Great, now we can look forward to people using their talking loudly on their mobiles phones AND gesticulating wildly!
Anyways, this is a kind of "post-it note" of gesture technologies and while I dont feel it adds much to the field *practically* (i.e. I'd love to see someone with some good gesture recognition algs that just work) I'd be interesting in seeing some of the evaluation metrics on this since my primary concern would be that people just wouldnt grok it and if they do, I'd suspect that the additional cognitive load would render anything but the most basic interactions (i.e. post-it notes) useless.
Speaking of useless, they have also done some research on projected touch. Anyone else think...."well, why not just use VLC"?
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The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years, radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then, as the technology became more sophisticated, the controls were made touch sensitive ... now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant you had to stay infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.
D. Adams, The hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. Ch. 12.
BTW, a envisionment of natal in 1993, with datagloves: Charade, remote control of objects using free hand gestures published in Communications of the ACM. (Here for ps version)
Italians will *love* this interface!
Combining something like this with a set of augmented reality goggles and a wifi chip (if we ever get ubiquitous broadband) could make for some really fun lunch breaks and such. Just imagine logging into a 3D shooter game with your goggles in such a way that everyone else logged into the game got marked (through augmented reality) with some sort of indicator (virtual costume or something). Then, using your new hand gesture control system, you could run around and, 'shoot,' at each other with a gesture of your hand while it is pointing like a gun. It would be less dangerous than paintball, less painful, and, hopefully, require less gear than typical laser tag. All in all, it could make for some really fun augmented reality real-life games.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
I thought Pranav Mistry already did something like this with his SixthSense technology?
http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
Interesting. It kinda replicates the 2004 PhD thesis of Mathias Kolsch when he was at UCSB (now at the Moves Institute, NPS). Mathias's work is known as HandVu. The source code for HandVu is available on that web site, along with videos.
Most gestures seem to result in Poland being overrun....